Centurions sparkle for LMV

Centuries from Joseph Greenwall-Cohen and Adam Brand helped London Maccabi Vale 1st XI open their Chess Valley League season with an emphatic 217-run victory over Chesham 2nd XI.

Captain Neil Lederman finally won a toss and with not a cloud in the sky, made no hesitation to bat first.

Mark Landau, making his first CV appearance for the club, and Greenwall-Cohen, last season’s top run-scorer, made a flying start, although both rode their luck a bit and were dropped early on in their innings in this Division Five contest.

They added 50 runs in good time until Landau was dismissed after clipping a ball straight to square leg. This brought out Brand who took over where Landau had left off - together Brand and JGC put on 199 together both playing an array of attacking shots, between them hitting 26 boundaries and six sixes. Both passed their first hundreds of the season within an over of each other.

Brand was eventually bowled for 108, with Greenwall-Cohen being bowled for 123 – his highest score for the club.

Adam Spooner and Benjamin Lederman were then left to have a bit of fun at the end of the innings, although Benjamin struggled to find the edge let alone the middle. The innings finally came to an end with LMV finishing on 328-3 off their 45 overs.

In response, Chesham were never in the hunt, with Benjamin Lederman and Joe Nyman, in his first game of the year, opening the bowling. And within three overs it was very clear that this was going to be a very one-sided contest.

Nyman made the initial breakthrough, breaking a bail in the process and then Lederman claimed a deserved wicket. Wickets continued to tumble as Nyman claimed another victory two balls after his first.

Neil Lederman, having watched the ball moving a bit, then decided to bring himself on. The move paid dividends as he claimed three quickfire wickets, including bowling the other opener round his legs.

By this time, and with the score below 50-5, Neil Lederman opted to give everyone a bowl, with Jeremy Harris being given his first overs for the club, only some debateable umpiring stopped him from having his first (and probably only) wicket.

In all, all 10 outfielders bowled and Benjamin Lederman wrapped the game up bowling offies, having got his previous two wickets bowling a leggy and a seam up half volley.

LMV skipper Neil Lederman said: "Overall it was a good performance, but we’re expecting much sterner challenges in the next few weeks. The quest for promotion continues ..."